


Before the Summer Ends (and the World too, Maybe)

by LightningMcMiche



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Acceptance, Alternate Universe - Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Denial, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, To be or not to be is the question, background Baekchen, identity crisis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2020-12-13 19:37:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21003077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LightningMcMiche/pseuds/LightningMcMiche
Summary: In the end, the start creeps up on them all without them realising. In retrospect, Donghyuck feels like the moment he waited lifetimes for slipped through his fingers like sand, and he wants to complain he feels cheated because really, it’s stupid, the way they meet.[Originally posted: Oct 14, 19.Edited: Dec 13, 20.]





	Before the Summer Ends (and the World too, Maybe)

**Author's Note:**

> Hello my dear readers~~
> 
> It's my first time posting for NCT, although I actually have so much in drafts for them. I normally post in the EXO fandom, seeing as how I am an EXO-L,,, but I'm also absolutely a NCTzen and I HAD to post something for my other main group although I've never really had the confidence to do so. (You'll also see that I've also managed to sneak in my main EXO ship in this fic too because I'm weak so...there.)
> 
> Anyhow, I'm pretty much equal parts nervous and excited to be dropping this, especially since I've been working on this since August. This work is literally my baby - I've had to stop and give it so much time and effort. 
> 
> Part of the credit goes to my best friend Niche who convinced me to watch Good Omens (a great show btw) and inspired me to work on this! Some more credit to my other friend M, who's literally been sitting next to me as I worked on this and pushed me to finish it, because without her, I doubt I'd have it done even today.
> 
> Anyway, I really hope you like it!
> 
> Lots of love,  
Miche xx

Donghyuck lets out a deep breath as he eyes the lady across the store with the retail worker. The leather jacket he’d picked up is left forgotten in his hands, gaze fixated on the duo. He tunes in and smirks as he realises what is happening. Of course, their body language spoke volumes already, but it’s just a little tweaking he needs to do before the lady (who’d already been in a bad mood) is shouting at the other, abuse flowing like a melody to Donghyuck’s ear. The other lady uncharacteristically fires back, yelling at the worker just as bad, and there’s a yell for a manager.

It’s a small push on Donghyuck’s part, the increase of pressure on stress, on hatred, frustration and irritation.

_Humans snap so easily,_ Donghyuck thinks as an amused smirk climbs on his face. The adrenaline rush is incredibly satisfying; the worse he does, the better it feels. He hasn’t felt this good in _weeks_.

He hasn’t decided yet if he’s an adrenaline junkie and can’t find it in himself to care. His job is to start war, fuck all the consequences. The worse the better.

He walks out that store without buying anything, but the retail worker has lost her job and the taste of victory is golden in his mouth.

“You look satisfied with yourself,” Jaemin comments as he sits down at the table in the food court. “Ruin someone’s day, did you?”

“And made someone’s better,” Donghyuck slides into his seat with an easy grin. “Mine.”

“Selfish as always,” Jeno chuckles, blonde hair falling into his eyes in a naturally styled look.

“All’s fair in…” Donghyuck rolls his eyes. “Well, in war. Love is just another reason for it. I don’t really understand that saying. It’s ridiculous.”

“I’ve brought our lunch,” Renjun arrives from behind, placing two trays like they weigh nothing onto the table. Renjun is deceptively strong for what his body looks like, with the pale and rather gothic, frail appearance. “Donghyuck, I see you’ve finally arrived.”

“Sorry I’m late,” Donghyuck shrugs, not really bothered, but he admits if there’s one person he’d apologise to, it would be Death. Instead he steals a burger he knows was bought for him because Death is thoughtful like that.

At least, for the Horsemen anyway.

“We’ve learned to expect it,” Renjun comments, and it sounds normal enough, teasing even, but Donghyuck knows a jibe from him when he hears it.

“Come on, Junnie. It’s okay to be late once in a while,” He leans forward in his chair with a smile, eyes swirling with a dark promise. “I’ll be the first one here on the final day, either way.”

“Actually, that would be me,” Jeno inserts, a single handsome eyebrow raised as he looked between Death and War. “White rider and all.”

“Of course you will be, Jeno,” Jaemin rubs Jeno’s shoulder in comfort, and in this life he is so incredibly pretty, a smile so deceptively haunting.

The Horsemen had all been born in the year 2000. Donghyuck was born to Korean parents settled in Vancouver, and so was Jeno. Renjun, on the other hand, had moved here from China in early 2004, not that he remembers it much. Jaemin had moved to Vancouver much later, sometime in 2010.

It was their energies and destinies that brought them closer to one another. All near to one another yet still so far, with minds of a human but souls thousands of years old, and the body a mere vessel to carry out a task of infinite importance. Despite being in the same city, they hadn’t met for years, instead learning to control their powers in a new body, yet with a practiced ease.

No, they hadn’t met (not for millennia technically), not until _two years ago_ \- but the meeting of the riders itself symbolized a new beginning.

Because the Horsemen had been reborn into lives multiple times. But never had they had the gratification of meeting in the same lifetimes, not aside from passing glances (after all, one could never have war without deaths, famine without some pollution and plague). And the fact that they had now - it meant that it was time for the world to end.

All they needed was to meet the Antichrist, and Donghyuck could finally, _finally,_ reduce the world to its knees, see it burn to ashes and mere cinders.

Donghyuck doesn’t hate the world really, it’s just that his task has been laid out for him for so _painfully_ long, now all he wants to do is complete it like he’s been waiting. He’s so interested in finding out what happens next and how the Antichrist will be reshaping this world.

“I don’t feel any different, though,” Jeno points out then. “No...what’s the word?” He pauses for a second and then frowns, “Rush? _Thrill?”_

Renjun hums noncommittally, but Jaemin pushes forward, “He’s right, technically. It’s been two years since we met, but there’s still no sign of the Antichrist.”

Donghyuck hates to admit it, but Jaemin’s right, and judging by the darkening of Renjun’s expression, he feels it too.

“When do you think we’ll meet him?” Jaemin leans his chin on his hand. And whilst all of them turn to look at him for the question, Jaemin’s gaze is far away - lost in thoughts as he frowns down at the food on the table like it sickens him.

“Soon, hopefully,” Donghyuck snorts, breaking the seriousness that was making even the air taste bitter. “I’m fucking tired of waiting.”

“You think?” Jeno rolls his eyes, even as he steals a fry. Donghyuck has to admit, food is one of the only things that humans have done right, aside from the genius that is a mobile phone. If there were two things he wouldn’t destroy, that would be mobiles and food. Although, the latter’s not his domain either way - it’s Jaemin’s, really. “We’re nearly done with junior year. Now if only he’d show up and tell us to lead him to destruction, we wouldn’t have to attend senior year. Human’s worst invention yet, to be honest. One hundred percent, would _not_ recommend.”

“Careful Jeno,” Renjun’s grin is sharp. “Fortune favours those who wait. We must wait, and when it is time, our victory will be tantalising.”

“Renjun,” Donghyuck snickers. “As nice as this is, you still speak like you were around during the Romans - “

“I _was_ \- ”

“You need to get with the times, man,” Donghyuck acts like he didn’t just interrupt Death himself, even if he has a point. It’s been two years of knowing him as Renjun, and he’s...well, his friend (they’re _all _friends), even if Death is their leader. So he thinks he has the liberty of making fun of him, and besides, they really should be keeping up with the times. For disguises’ sake, at least until they find the Antichrist, not that it really matters since the Horsemen can manipulate their domains enough to trick humans that may doubt them.

“Shut up, Donghyuck,” Renjun shakes his head, but there’s laughter in his voice that makes Donghyuck grin. “No one asked you.”

“Doesn’t mean my input wasn’t necessary - ”

The playful smack from Renjun (not intended to kill, of course, otherwise Donghyuck would have been in a mighty uncomfortable situation) is dodged with practiced ease.

* * *

[A week and six days later, Donghyuck wakes up at five thirty six in the morning, just in time to witness the sunrise.

He’s woken up from seeing dreams of the Achaean war, the adrenaline singing in his blood, and it’s liberating from all the mornings prior to this day. The last week has been spent giving exams sent straight from hell - Donghyuck couldn’t care less about his classes really, but he is still a teenager in the eyes of the world, and appearances must be kept - and he already knows he’s going to ace his history exam, ironically on the very same Achaean war he’d been present to witness.

The sun breaks through the night, rays streaking through the sky in sharp colours behind the clouds. The light halos, illuminating the clouds from behind. The sky bleeds in oranges, whites, yellows and reds, and it’s a sign of prosperity, a sign of a dawning as it brings change with it, and _yes_, Donghyuck thinks. _This is what I will be_.

He feels victorious this morning, and there is nothing that can bring his spirit down. There’s a curl in the pit of his stomach, a feeling he hasn’t felt in so long, it leaves him breathless. Excitement, he realises. It’s been thousands of years, and he doesn’t remember feeling like this. Not even in the last century in the face of two World Wars.

He stares unfaltering at the rising sun, and wonders: _why?_

War surges in the back of Donghyuck’s mind, and it drives a nail of realisation.

War knows that it is time, and the smirk that climbs on Donghyuck’s face is of a thousand promises.]

* * *

In the end, the start creeps up on them all without them realising. In retrospect, Donghyuck feels like the moment he waited lifetimes for slipped through his fingers like sand, and he wants to complain he feels cheated because really, it’s _stupid,_ the way they meet, but…

If someone had told him that the last day of junior year was also going to be the last day of the world, then Donghyuck would have thrown a pre-apocalypse party in it’s honour.

It’s a spur of the moment decision really, going to the bowling alley. It’s a way to pass time in a life whose meaning is yet to come, and Jaemin has really been dying to show off his growing skills. Who could say no to that charming smile? To the look in his eyes that reeks of a hunger that only famine lusts after?

(Donghyuck could; Renjun and Jeno most certainly could not.)

And with Donghyuck’s claim of being undefeatable on any battlefield - even if it may just be a game - it turned into an all-out challenge between the four harbingers of destruction.

Donghyuck should have realised, in the way that Jeno was the first to enter, before him and the way his eyes zeroed in on a boy not even microseconds later. But he steps in after him.

And instantly, (it’s incredible, really) he feels a rush of adrenaline like a shot to his systems, sending _goosebumps_ down his arms. War screams in his head, a maniacal laugh echoing in an empty cavern. Donghyuck feels like his nerve endings are on fire as his senses heighten, emotions of everyone in the vicinity rolling off him and so, _so_ easy to set off.

It’s addicting, obsessive, like a high so sharp it’s derailing and Donghyuck has barely registered that the other two Horsemen have entered as his gaze lands on a boy who’d seemingly been about to leave with three other friends, in the middle of returning those horrible bowling shoes, only to snap his head in their direction.

Time stands still, frozen as the boy stares back at him, and even with War still urging, raging, him forward, Donghyuck is paused. And he thinks, _Oh._

The boy mumbles something to his friends without breaking eye contact, and Donghyuck pays them no mind - not when the boy is walking up to them - not when the Antichrist is walking up to them - because who else could make him feel like this?

The Antichrist is barely older than them, pale face, sharp cheekbones and jawlines, eyes deeper than the chambers of hell, and the ruffled hair as dark as the devil’s hour. His face is unblemished, a seductive perfection, and it dawns on Donghyuck that it’s the first time someone has laid their eyes on the son of Satan since he’d been kidnapped all those years ago and it sends a shiver down his spine.

He’s their real leader; even Renjun bows to him, even if he doesn’t to Satan himself (the Horsemen have always been unique like that, not entirely under the control of the Devil himself, having and exercising a degree of freedom not anyone else can wield), because this boy here...he holds the fate of the world in his hands, will lead to a revolution of creation itself to echo in the recesses of time until it can no longer sound.

The end is near, and it makes Donghyuck lightheaded.

“I’ve been waiting for you, haven’t I?” The Antichrist stands in front of them, and he’s deceptively soft looking, looks worthy of a misplaced trust, with the silver rimmed circle glasses perched on his nose, the perfectly pretty smile looking at them fondly. His eyes glitter under the dark lights, obsidian diamonds, and his voice is quiet, but Donghyuck hears it like a beacon, “You’re all my friends, aren’t you? I don’t know why, but I feel like I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”

“Yes,” Renjun, oh-so-uptight, ever-so-formal Renjun, sounds as breathless as Donghyuck feels and he lowers to one knee in a sign of respect. “Yes, my lord. We’re here.”

The rest of the riders follow suit, and that’s when the other reacts wildly, almost panicked, “Wait, what are you doing?!”

The four blink, exchange a look, and the other hisses, “Get up, oh my god.”

The words strike Donghyuck like a knife to the side, and it leaves him utterly speechless. War blasts in his head, the sound of sword against sword swirling in his mind. Had the _Antichrist_ just invoked _‘God’?_

Renjun is the first to recover, standing straighter as he narrows his eyes at the other carefully, and silently, Donghyuck and the others follow his actions. That one statement alone had been enough to make them wary, and they wondered if they were looking at the right person -

But that _reaction._

War… war would _never _have reacted the way it did just now if it weren’t for him being the Antichrist.

“You’re all my old friends, aren’t you?” He asks again, and then Renjun answers, without a moment’s hesitation, “Yes, of course, we are here to serve you.”

“What?” The boy shakes his head, eyes wide, and there’s an awkward chuckle. “Friends don’t serve.”

“Our friendship is a bit unique,” Donghyuck pitches in then, and the boy’s eyes flash to him, eerie with the darkness swirling in them, and it makes Donghyuck swallow. That one glance is enough to spend War into a frenzy (it wants to be set free, tear and destroy). Donghyuck’s nerves are still burning.

“I see,” The boy nods once, eyes narrowing behind his glasses, and then carefully looks at all four of them. They don’t know how to proceed - can’t without him giving the command to let the beasts chained to this form release - and they wait for him to finish appraising them. But when he opens his mouth, it’s the last thing they expect him to say. His smile is beatific, “Let’s grab a table, yeah? I’m sure there’s a lot you want to tell me.”

He doesn’t wait another minute, turning around and making his way to a nearby table. The four remain frozen in the entrance, confused. They had always thought that meeting the Antichrist meant going into war in the next minute - never did they imagine a scene where they’d be sitting at a table.

“War,” Renjun grips at his wrist, and Donghyuck’s eyes snap to him (War rumbles in his head, ready to answer it’s call). The others have begun to move, and Donghyuck nods, following after Renjun to the table. The Antichrist is standing near a table, waiting for them with the same smile, but his arms are folded awkwardly.

They slide into the circular leather booths, cool tabletop under Donghyuck’s wrists and a warm yellow light washing over them in the shadowed alcove.

Donghyuck finds himself sitting across the Antichrist himself, and in this light, the other’s face is bathed in that warm glow, the bridge of his nose casting shadows across the left side of his face. He looks like he was meant to be decorated like this, half in light, half in shadows. How apt, really.

“I’m Mark Lee,” He introduces after a beat of silence. “It’s a pleasure.”

“I’m Jeno Lee, I suppose, in this life,” The boy on Mark’s left speaks up. He isn’t meeting anyone’s eyes as he stares at the clean plate in front of him. “Better known as Pestilence, the White Rider of the Apocalypse.”

“War, Red Rider,” Donghyuck speaks up, two fingers raised in a smooth salute. “Or Donghyuck Lee.”

“Donghyuck, then,” The Antichrist repeats, quiet like he’s testing it out. It sends shivers down his spine, sounds like a calling. “And Jeno.”

“I’m Famine the Black Rider, at your service,” Jaemin shrugs, smile sharp. “Or Jaemin Na, whichever you prefer.”

“And I’m the Pale Rider, Death,” Renjun puts in. “Renjun Huang, otherwise.”

“And I’m the...Antichrist, it seems?” The Antichrist speaks after a pause. “It’s a pleasure to meet you all, of course, but I’m forced to ask...why now?”

“It is time,” Renjun answers him calmly. “You must feel it.”

“That I have to bring the world to an end now?” The Antichrist has a small smile on his face. “Come on, I’ve only been bending reality for two weeks now.”

There’s a deafening silence.

The Antichrist raises an eyebrow, eyes wide now, “You really expect me to bring the apocalypse right here and right now?”

“It is what you were destined to do,” Donghyuck leans forward now, the words flowing like temptation. War screams in his head to get a move on, pushes him to convince the Antichrist that he must take action. “It is what you must do now.”

“No,” The Antichrist says blandly, eyebrows furrowed.

“Wait, you want more time?” Jeno asks, sounding confused. And Donghyuck feels an irrational anger surge in him (he hasn’t waited millennia for _this_), masking an insecurity and fear, because there’s absolutely no way that the Antichrist would not -

“No,” The Antichrist cuts through his thoughts with a deep sigh, serious as he says. “I don’t have to do_ anything.”_

It’s like a taut wire snapping.

Donghyuck’s mind scrambles into a frenzy, confused, unsure and all he wants is to fight - to go to war.

“Excuse me?” He chokes out, the first to react, the first to break the silence that had fallen over the table. “What do you mean you won’t do anything?”

“Exactly what I meant,” The Antichrist snaps. For the first time since they’ve met him, his smile is missing, lips in a thin scorned line. The glint in his eyes hides a hellfire, frustration buried and Donghyuck wonders if it had always been there, and if it was, how he missed it this entire time. It’s then that he realises he can’t read any emotion off of him - a closed book, and Donghyuck has never faced this kind of monster before. For the first time, Donghyuck finds himself truly looking at the son of Satan in his fury, and it terrifies him. The war in his head is still screaming, but when the Antichrist stares at him point blank, it's practically white noise. “I refuse to ‘end the world’. I didn’t ask to be the Antichrist, and I won’t accept this burden.”

“My Lord, understand - ” Renjun tried to reason.

“No, Renjun,” The Antichrist’s jaw clenches, serious. “If this world submits to my will and, even if it was written in _books of prophecy_ that on this eve the five of us were to ignite the world to its end, it is my will to abolish the possibility of the Apocalypse. The world will _not_ end today, I swear it on my life to the heavens and to hell.”

All at once, Donghyuck feels his breath leave him, throat drying to the capacity where he wants to beg for water and the noise in his head wrestles to be heard but he feels submerged, mute to his surroundings. It’s murky and he wants to claw at his throat, but his grip has stoned over the table to the point where his grip hurts his own fingers.

Since he could remember, the war in his head has always been louder than a blow horn. War _is_ him.

But it’s fading like someone turned the volume down over seven bars and it’s disorienting. It’s there, but it’s been silenced, quietened. The adrenaline high he’d been on that morning zings through his veins and then washes away, leaving him behind bereft. He’s helpless to fight it (ironic, really, considering who he is, what he’s meant to _become)._

By the time Donghyuck is finally, finally out of his own head and is aware of what’s happening around him, he doesn’t feel half as powerful as he did this morning. And judging from the way Renjun has stiffened, Jeno’s hands are gripping his own hair and Jaemin’s eyes are glazed over, they are feeling it too.

The loss of power is suffocating. It chokes him, and it makes him want to shred something into pieces.

Donghyuck looks around the room. The boys who had been with the Antichrist are nowhere to be seen, and the bowling alley is fairly empty considering the day it is. But he spots a couple across the room playing, competing against one another, and finds he can still read their emotions, can still manipulate them and push their buttons till one of them hates that they are losing and fight.

He does it. He doesn’t care that it might affect them - he never has really - but he needs to validate that his powers are still there.

How can War be War without causing what he’s meant to?

He watches them storm out with a satisfied smile, but once he looks back at the table to find the Antichrist staring carefully at him.

Donghyuck scowls, “What have you done to us?”

“I denounced the Apocalypse,” He shrugs like it’s not a big deal. Like it’s not everything Donghyuck - and the others - having been waiting for since the start of time itself.

“With what right?!” He’s furious; fuck that he’s talking to the Antichrist.

“My own,” The Antichrist returns, at peace with himself with the way only the son of Satan could be. “I wasn’t going to take that on myself, I already told you this. This world is too precious for that - ”

“We could build a new world!” Donghyuck practically screams. The other horsemen are still dazed. “That’s what we were going to do! What you were supposed to do!”

“No,” He shakes his head, the glint in his eyes as soft as he reminds gently. “That’s what you all wanted me to do. But I don’t want to.”

“Fuck you and your wish to save this world because it’s too ‘precious’ - ”

“Don’t misunderstand, Donghyuck,” The Antichrist narrows his eyes. “I _am_ selfish; I am not, nor do I claim to be, a saint and don’t I want to be one either. So I will say openly that I have far too many attachments to this place, which I want to protect and preserve. Besides, the world is perfectly fine the way it is, so why should I punish it? If you want to fix things, teach the right way. It’s unnecessary and a waste of effort to start from scratch.” His voice trails off softly as he adds, “Not when you’ll never be satisfied…”

“And now because you want to be so damn generous and righteous,” Donghyuck sneers. “What do you expect us to do? Live our lives like merry fucking children?”

“Yes?” The Antichrist shrugs awkwardly, like he doesn’t really know how to answer. “Obviously?”

With Renjun and the others finally coming to, Donghyuck is left with no choice but to glare at the failure that is the Antichrist.

“My Lord,” Renjun’s voice is raspy, and he sounds tired. “What have you done?”

“I’ve set you free of your...duties, as you may have it,” He makes a face. “I know this is less than ideal for you guys, as Donghyuck so crudely pointed out,” The Antichrist’s eyes flash towards Donghyuck for a second as though considering his next words. “But I haven’t taken away your powers entirely, just put them on the back burner, really - ”

“Do you think it’s that easy?” It’s Jaemin who speaks up then; Jaemin, who had been silent for most of this time, Jaemin, who now looks paler than ever before, even as the darkness in his eyes swirl. “My Lord, _this_ is who we are supposed to be, who we _are.”_

The Antichrist stands suddenly, and Donghyuck doesn’t know if it’s because of the lighting at the table, but he looks offended. His jaw clenches once before he sighs and the tension leaves his form in the same exhale as he meets Jaemin’s eyes once again. All at once, the Antichrist looks wiser, centuries older than he is, wrinkles on his forehead from where he’s scrunching his eyebrows. But the look on his face is still soft, and his stance is unassuming in the sweater he’s wearing.

“You know, a wise man once told me that it’s when you hit your lowest point, you’re open to the greatest change,” His expression never falters, but there’s a painful ache in his eyes. “If you think about it a little, you’ll realise that the answer to ‘who you are’ is far more complex than you could ever give it credit for.”

And without another word, the Antichrist leaves their table, arms folded across his chest. Within seconds he’s gone, walking out of the bowling alley and leaving the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in a dumbfounded silence at the table he’s abandoned.

* * *

It’s been exactly three days since the Horsemen of the Never-Going-to-Happen Apocalypse met the Antichrist, and Donghyuck is still angry.

The anger is churning in his pit of his gut, and no amount of parents yelling at their children (a grand total of three, now), breaking up couples (five), and fighting siblings (one unlucky pair at the supermarket) is fixing his problem.

How could it? These things paled in comparison to the _Apocalypse_ after all.

What frustrates him even more however, is the lack of reaction from the others. Renjun has been silent, lost in thought since the meeting; Donghyuck isn’t exactly out to fight Death just yet so he hasn’t said a word to him though. Jaemin, whilst not quiet per say, does seem to be taking it fairly well. He has always been the most patient of them all (famine does take time to spread, it’s in his nature to wait out, bare until the other can no longer withstand).

But Jeno is taking it in stride. He doesn’t even seem bothered, effortlessly continuing to go around and play with the cockroaches he keeps as pets in his room. The air around him hasn’t even soured, far from bittered, _especially_ around his damn pets. Donghyuck spares a minute to consider that it’s Jeno’s way of dealing with the news, by using his powers the way he still can.

All of their powers have weakened considerably. Donghyuck can still cause fights, read and manipulate emotions, but he has nowhere near enough power to cause a war, and he finds himself (for the first time in millennia) tiring out after using his powers. Renjun’s still able to read lifelines, kill small creatures like bugs, but that seems to be the extent of his reach. Jaemin still rots food in proximity, can still cause hunger in others, but he too seems tired after using them. Jeno’s been silent about his own powers.

The paradoxicality of the situation remains that using their powers tire them, but if they go without using them, it feels suffocating, restricting, and the aftershocks and echoes of War linger in his mind, begging him to use his gifts until he does.

“Donghyuck,” Renjun’s voice is sharp, but the look in his eyes is tired. “Stop sulking.”

Indignation flares inside him, and he snaps, “I’m not - ”

“Yes, you _are,”_ Jaemin cuts in, eyebrows furrowed, and he looks _irritated._ Donghyuck bites the inside of his cheek, feeling chastised, and then immediately feels irritation for feeling that way. “Stop it already, the Antichrist has made a decision and we have to do what he wants. End of the matter.”

“We could try to convince him - ” Donghyuck puts, mind swirling with the idea of manipulation, methods of persuasion he could take straight from medieval Europe, need be -

“We follow him,” Jeno says softly, from where he’s crouched in front of a squashed bug on the ground. It looks like a dead caterpillar. He hears Jeno sigh. “Not the other way around, you know this Donghyuck.”

“And what of our task?!” Donghyuck feels himself blast, pulling on his own hair. “What’s wrong with you guys?! We’ve waited for so long for this; why are you just accepting this?!”

“We were promised to bring the Apocalypse _on the command_ of the Antichrist,” Renjun looks entirely unbothered by Donghyuck’s figure shaking with barely restrained frustration. “And when the time comes, we’ll do that. But that time isn’t now, and if that’s the Antichrist’s decision, then so be it. You’ll have to accept that, Donghyuck, because there’s little we can do to change that. That’s not in our hands.”

“Why?” Donghyuck demands. “Why not? We could have changed the world, Renjun, and now you want to tell me that I can’t even try to change someone’s mind? What happened to us being unrestrained, undefeatable?”

“We’ve always been restrained to the task though,” Jaemin scoffs. “You live in an illusion if you think we have the luxury of freedom. There isn’t a single waking moment I don’t think about the task we had been given; how was that freedom?”

Donghyuck is silenced as he stares at Jaemin. He’s never heard the other sounds so bitter before, and wonders what happened to him.

“Donghyuck,” Renjun pulls his attention back to him. For the first time since they arrived here in the park, Donghyuck looks into his eyes without hesitance and he sees sunken dark circles, jaded and aged. “I know you’re angry. We all are...but we have to accept this. Life is transformative, and right now, you can consider the end of this task as the death of an era. Acceptance is the first step.”

_No wonder Renjun’s been quietly staring out of the window so often_, Donghyuck thinks. Renjun’s been prepared for this from the get-go, already moving on like this isn’t a big deal -

“Did you know?” Donghyuck’s eyes widen in realisation. “Did you know that this was going to happen - ?”

“Technically, no,” Renjun admits, honest. “I had thought that there was a long time before the apocalypse since people in general still have quite a long lifetime left...I realised only when we actually met the Antichrist.”

Donghyuck feels the exhaustion of the whole situation finally catch up to him, and he can’t help it when he falls into a crouch, arms resting on his knees as he burrows his head between them. He feels a hand run through his hair, and even though it’s far from comforting, Donghyuck finds himself appreciating it. War still wants to fight, but the more Donghyuck thinks about the current situation, he realises. He realises he’s helpless in this situation, like fighting on the losing side of a war, like a victim of a war left to his own devices without anything left for him to weather the damage with.

_I wouldn’t do that to you._

Another of War’s rare voices whispers, fleeting, distant and barely there, but it makes his head snap up. The voice is warm, and Donghyuck finds himself latching to the words, seeking comfort in the familiarity. He pauses, craning to hear it again, but it’s back to angry voices screaming over one another, incomprehensible.

“Donghyuck?” Jeno asks, and Donghyuck looks up to find Jeno right in front of him, hand outstretched. “Come on.”

Donghyuck frowns but takes his hand anyway, “Where are we going?”

“Let’s go get some ice-cream, yeah?” Jeno’s eyes disappear in his signature smile, and Donghyuck already feels his discomfort melt, wonders how Jeno’s smile can be so easily disarming. Jeno’s plague allows him to manipulate minds as well as Donghyuck’s war controls emotions.

“Yeah, yeah, turn those eyes off,” Donghyuck shakes his head, getting to his feet as he dusts off his pants even though he hadn’t sat on the floor.

It’s a frosty atmosphere as they walk, mostly because Renjun is lost in his thoughts once again, and Jeno’s gaze is fixed on the surroundings (probably soaking in the amount of pestilence and pollution around him). Donghyuck hasn’t glanced once in Jaemin’s direction, if only because he’s worried he’ll see that scowl on Jaemin’s face again, and he doesn’t want to. It’s an odd sight, unfitting of him, really.

Of course, Donghyuck’s plans to avoid Jaemin are foiled, just as all of his plans are seeming to be these days.

Jaemin sidles up to him, falling into step with him as Jeno and Renjun walk ahead of them. Donghyuck maintains his straight gaze ahead, but lets out a soft relenting sigh when Jaemin grips his wrist lightly.

“Donghyuck, I’m sorry,” Jaemin peers at him, the smallest frown on his face, eyes apologetic. “I didn’t mean to get so worked up about all that.”

“It’s fine, Jaemin,” Donghyuck pulls his wrist out of his hand, grips his fingers in a light squeeze instead. “I know.”

“I’m tired of it too, you know?” Jaemin looks away, and the grip on Donghyuck’s fingers get a tad tighter. “It’s all so tiring.”

Donghyuck nods, sees the shadows on Jaemin’s face, understands that Jaemin is going through the same things as he is. So Donghyuck squeezes his hand back tighter, “I know, I just hate to see you upset. A scowl is unbefitting you...it’s just so unlike you, you know?”

Jaemin finally looks back at him, and there’s a strange look in his eyes as he says, “Famine is ugly too, Donghyuck.”

“But you’re not,” Donghyuck denies outright, making sure to look right at Jaemin, because really, Jaemin is beautiful even with the famine running in his veins.

The glint in his eyes disappear, and a smile finally quirks on Jaemin’s face. But then he pats Donghyuck on the shoulder, and chuckling as he asks, “And who am I, Donghyuck?”

He squeezes Donghyuck’s hand one last time and then gives a short laugh as he calls the other two to wait for them, not realising the confusion he’s left Donghyuck in.

Didn’t Jaemin understand what he was trying to say?

Donghyuck doesn’t get much time to explain, because they’re entering the ice-cream parlour, only for their eyes to fall on the one person they want nothing to do with but are fated to be with.

The Antichrist sits at the table, glasses perched on his nose and in a grey sweater, as he licks into what looks like the chocolate brownie ice cream on a cone.

“Hi,” He chirps, far too friendly for the feelings rising in Donghyuck right now. “I’ve been waiting for you guys. Go ahead and get you want, I’ll take care of it.”

“Uh no thanks, I’ll pay for myself,” Donghyuck rolls his eyes as he turns away to look at the glass case.

“I insist, Donghyuck,” The Antichrist’s voice curls around his name, and Donghyuck swallows, lips drying.

Once they’re all settled with their respective ice-creams (Donghyuck with his Belgian dark chocolate, Jeno with his mango, Jaemin with his vanilla - because it’s the only thing he can stomach without throwing up - and Renjun with his mint chocolate chip - because he’s the only one who stand an ice-cream that tastes like punishment), the Antichrist smiles at them, “Sorry our meeting was cut short last time. We didn’t really get to finish our talk that day, and I’ve been sorting out my own thoughts since then, so really, I’ve been avoiding you guys too.”

“Avoiding us?” Jaemin echoes, sounding mildly curious. “You’d have to know where we were for that.”

“Which I do, technically,” The Antichrist shrugs. “Since I met you guys, anyway.”

“I see,” Renjun comments. After a patch of silence, he questions, “So why did you want to meet us?”

“We’re friends, aren’t we?” The Antichrist smiles, but it’s awkward. For the first time, he actually doesn’t seem all that in control. In fact, in the far better lighting of the ice cream parlour, the Antichrist looks brighter, and far more like the regular teenager that he is most definitely not. He’s still deceptively soft, but in this lighting, in this backdrop, it’s cute, and that’s what surprises Donghyuck. “Can’t we meet?”

“Cut the crap,” Donghyuck scowls, but he’s feeling irritation at himself mostly. “What are you trying to do here? You said no apocalypse, so no apocalypse. What do you want from us now?”

“Donghyuck,” Jeno sighs under his breath, grabbing his wrist under the table, and even Renjun scowls at Donghyuck from his other side. Jaemin, on the other hand, simply glances between the Antichrist and Donghyuck, a small amused smirk gracing his lips.

The Antichrist’s face falls, and he fidgets with the ice-cream cone in his hand. He sounds uncertain, hesitant when he speaks, “Look, I know you guys are upset, okay? I understand. You guys have been waiting for so long for this, but I can’t. You can’t expect me to just do this, and I don’t want to.”

They’ve heard all this the last time. So what does he want now?

“Is there nothing that matters to you guys here, right now?” He looks between them all, and his eyes look desperate. “Anyone? Your parents?”

The four exchange a look and shrug. Renjun puts in, “No attachments.”

“Not even to your parents?” He looks horrified, and Renjun shakes his head. “We’ve been alive far longer than they have.”

The Antichrist’s eyes mist over, and there’s something oddly heartbreaking about it.

“That’s...I’m so sorry,” He says then, blinking.

“Don’t pity us,” Donghyuck’s jaw clenches.

“I’m sorry because you never got to love,” The Antichrist looks resolute, even as his eyes rim red behind his glasses. “And you have never allowed yourselves to love. Not truly. Not the kind that makes your heart beat and soar because it’s so dear to you, not the kind that makes you pause and count your blessings and your flaws.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’ve all lived so long, without love, and it’s my fault,” He presses. “I promise I’ll teach you guys what love is, even if it’s the last thing I do.”

It’s becoming a habit, it seems. Everytime the Antichrist meets them, he makes a promise that shakes the heavens and hell. And just like last time, he makes one this time.

But now, there’s the strangest warmth washing over Donghyuck, enveloping him in a hug, and he’s not sure how to feel about it.

“My Lord - ” Renjun starts, only for the Antichrist to meet his eyes with a soft smile, “Please. Just call me Mark.”

* * *

The Antichrist makes a group chat oh-so-ironically called ‘The Ex-Horsemen of the Apocalypse and Co.’

It makes Donghyuck want to break his phone.

Donghyuck doesn’t text on this group much (because he avoids his problems the way he’s learnt from teenagers of this generation) but Jaemin seems to live for the group, judging by how the groupchat is just full of memes that used to be sent to their old group (which was more appropriately named ‘Apocalypse Time’).

The Antichrist, to his discredit, seems to love the memes Jaemin sends, since he laughs every damn time...but the more Donghyuck and the others are spending time with him, he’s quickly realising that the reason the Antichrist laughs so much is because _he has no taste._

It’s infuriating, the way his entire face scrunches and eyes disappear into curves. He shouldn’t be this happy after what he’s done.

Okay, alright, so maybe Donghyuck still isn’t over what’s happened, even if he’s told such to Renjun. So what? War is petty, it’s in his nature to be.

They’re all hanging out at Jaemin’s house that evening, planning to watch a movie, and Donghyuck is sat as far as possible from the Antichrist. It still unnerves Donghyuck to be around him, but at least Jaemin seems to have taken a liking to him.

Jaemin, who’s in the kitchen making snacks (it’s ironic really, because Jaemin never really eats - he can’t stand it, usually ends up throwing up), has been silent for a while now, not having said a word since he’d called out for them to put the movie in. It’s noisy in the living room where the others are all sat, bickering as usual. But another three minutes of quiet from Jaemin’s end later has the Antichrist standing up, mumbling something about helping the boy in the kitchen out.

And so he disappears through the archway into the kitchen, leaving Donghyuck staring at his retreating back. Something feels off, and he’s not sure what.

“Donghyuck?” Jeno calls softly, and Donghyuck blinks. “Everything okay?”

“Uh, yeah,” He coughs. “Sorry, just parched, I think - ”

And feeling awkward at getting caught staring after the Antichrist, he stands and makes his way into the kitchen quietly. He doesn’t know why he does it, why he follows, even though War is screaming for him to be cautious, but Donghyuck is curious, for lack of a better word.

But when he steps into the shadow of the kitchen, he falls silent at the sight of the two in the kitchen. The Antichrist has pulled Jaemin into a hug, soft murmurs falling from his lips. Donghyuck stares at the two. Jaemin is taller than the other by more than a few inches, but he looks smaller than the Antichrist right now. The scene isn’t intimate, but it’s _personal,_ and it makes Donghyuck wonder if he’s intruding. But he can’t help but be wary when he feels the emotions rolling off Jaemin in waves (he can’t read the Antichrist’s anyway).

Jaemin is in _tears,_ and sadness and confusion is rolling off him. His arms cling to the Antichrist’s shoulders, and Jaemin looks so broken that it breaks a distant, quiet _something_ within Donghyuck too.

“Shh,” The Antichrist runs a hand through Jaemin’s hair softly. “You’re okay, Jaemin. You’re okay. You’re going to be okay.”

“How can I be when Famine makes me be the one thing I don’t want to be?” Jaemin’s face is buried in the Antichrist’s shoulder, and his tone is distraught, enough for the onslaught of emotions to hurt Donghyuck. “I never asked for this, Mark. Why do I have to watch others eat so happily when I can’t even stomach the thought of keeping it down myself? I just want to have one meal, _one_ entire meal, without the Famine in my head wanting to ruin everything - ruin everything for everyone. Is it selfish to want that? I’m so sick of it all, Mark, I’m so _tired.”_

“If Famine is supposed to make me better, enough to bring an apocalypse, then why does it hurt me so much?” The Antichrist’s arms just wrap around Jaemin tighter as Jaemin continues, “I know what I look like in a mirror. They all say I’m beautiful, but I’m as beautiful as a withering flower, Mark. Famine isn’t beauty, it’s pain wrapped in a bow.”

Donghyuck has never heard Jaemin talk like this in all the lifetimes he’s known him. It raises the strangest instinct in him, one he can’t place.

And the Antichrist is mumbling something to the crying boy, words too soft for Donghyuck to hear. But he doesn’t need to, because it’s then that the Antichrist looks up, and his sight locks on Donghyuck in the deepest gaze, a pain reflecting in his eyes that makes Donghyuck swallow and before he knows it, he’s turned around, walking out because the emotions are overwhelming him and he needs to _escape._

And it’s not a moment too soon, because he nearly runs into Jeno, who’s approaching with a furrowed eyebrow, “What’s taking so long? Everything okay?”

And Donghyuck doesn’t know what drives him to say it, but it’s out of his mouth before he even realises and he’s grabbed onto Jeno, “Yeah, they’ll be out in a second. Let’s go.”

* * *

After that, there’s a more than noticeable change in Jaemin.

He’s started smiling more - and its not the smile that Donghyuck had been used to (famine's desires had carved into his expression, echoing for poetic ruination). No, Donghyuck sees what’s changed. The smile before hadn’t just been Famine’s desire; it had been tainted by melancholy of something beyond reach, something far deeper than desire. Donghyuck understands now that he’d always misunderstood it. Behind the fastidious curl of his lips, Jaemin hid an intangible, pained acceptance.

Now though, that glint has vanished. Instead, his eyes light up, hope swirling behind his irises. Donghyuck wonders why.

Jaemin still barely eats. His wrists are still tethering on the edge of too thin, pallor of his skin ever present.

Jeno and Renjun notice it almost immediately too, but they make no comments. It’s easier like this: to bask in the pleasure of Jaemin’s happiness without questioning it. His joy is theirs, and any wrong question could set off what are the worst sides of Jaemin’s temperament. The youngest of them has never liked being probed, and his anger is never confrontational like Donghyuck’s; rather, it’s harsh, distant and cutting like a frigid winter with no sustenance.

So instead, the three of them exchange soft smiles at the blatant lack of annoyance that usually floods Jaemin’s voice when he discovers that one of them has had the audacity to finish all the cheese cubes (one of the few things he can stomach) they all keep in their houses specifically for him, electing for his newly developed grandfather-style complaining.

Renjun leaves the room to join Jaemin at the fridge, abandoning Jeno and Donghyuck in his room. His voice is bland as he answers Jaemin with something along the lines of it being his house and he can do what he wants and that includes eating (and apparently, uncharacteristically swearing) all the fucking cheese.

As soon as he's far enough, Jeno breaks the silence in the room within a second.

“Ever think what it would have been like if we weren’t the Horsemen?”

And despite what everyone thinks, Donghyuck isn’t an idiot. Ever since he heard Jaemin talking to the Antichrist, it's all he can think about. This particular question has floated to the forefront of his mind in his darkest hour, and he finds himself wondering what it means, what it could mean, what it _should_ mean.

So when he replies, he drawls like it doesn’t even phase him, even if it makes the ends of his fingers spark and twitch, “We probably would have been dead as a result of an apocalypse, maybe. But this is about Jaemin, isn’t it?”

“Nah,” Jeno shrugs, looking as unbothered as he usually does, and it makes Donghyuck tilt his head. Jeno notices his gaze and blinks, “Well, I mean, sure. Jaemin - well, look how happy he is. He told me he talked to Mark. He’s been so much happier since. He told me about it. He’s trying to push the essence of Famine to the side...he doesn’t want it to rule over his life anymore. Now that the powers are quieter, he says it’s easier to ignore them." Jeno pauses in a contemplative manner. "What if he didn’t have to deal with Famine, Donghyuck? He could have been so much happier - he could have been smiling for his entire life like that, and I hate that he hasn’t. He deserves so much more.”

“I don’t understand,” Donghyuck says a beat later. “I mean - what do you mean, ‘deal with Famine’? This is who he is, Jeno. ‘Jaemin’ is just a body, at the end of the day, in our souls, we’re all the Horsemen.”

Jeno lips quirk.

“You can be so simple sometimes, Donghyuck,” Jeno shakes his head. “Jaemin isn’t just a body, he’s a soul of his own too - the Horseman can only attach its soul to someone it can truly fit with, only someone suited to it.”

“How do you know that?” Donghyuck raises an eyebrow. In all the years of his life, he's never heard of such a thing.

“Because I hate Pestilence,” Jeno says it so easily it leaves Donghyuck gaping. Jeno doesn’t seem surprised at Donghyuck’s expression, or likely doesn’t care, since he continues. “I’m not going to lie; Pestilence is tempting, it’s manipulated me _many_ times. When I use its powers, there is nothing that can really explain the rush that comes with destruction - and well, you know better than anyone that my cockroaches are my babies. It's why Pestilence chose me. I won't deny that Pestilence is a part of me… But I’ve never been able to entirely accept that I have to carry out a duty like this, that I have to be Pestilence, that I have to end the world and Donghyuck, you may have gotten used to causing fights and manipulating emotions but...I literally make people fall sick. Mentally, physically… It disgusts me, and it's difficult to watch."

Jeno lets out a tired sigh, eyes distant.

"I can’t say for sure, but it seems Jaemin may have always tethered on the edge between Jaemin and Famine, but I’ve always been more Jeno than Pestilence, from even before I remember meeting you guys two years ago - maybe even as a consequence of being Pestilence. It plagued my mind long before I met you. I’ve always questioned the purpose of the Horsemen.”

Donghyuck stares at him, unable to form words. Jeno's eyes return to look at Donghyuck’s, and he makes a face.

"Besides, all these feelings I have for Renjun and Jaemin...Pestilence would never understand those. I couldn't have felt half of what I did if I weren't Jeno."

“Jeno!” Jaemin calls from outside the room somewhere, but Jeno doesn’t break his gaze from Donghyuck’s.

“You may not believe me,” Jeno’s voice is low. “But tell me, when you think, do you call the... voices ‘War’ or ‘I’? Because the answer makes all the difference, Donghyuck.”

Jaemin yells again, and with one last pointed stare, Jeno is off the bed and out of the room, leaving Donghyuck to deal with the devastation he leaves behind.

* * *

“Donghyuck,” The Antichrist doesn’t sound surprised to see him, and it does nothing to alleviate the tension he feels. If anything, it draws the string tauter, till he feels like he’s going to snap. Nothing makes sense, nothing he thought was is what it's supposed to be.

And it’s all the Antichrist’s fault.

The Antichrist with his stupid encouraging smile, stupid determination to make things 'right', his stupid insistence on calling them by their mortal names, Donghyuck, _Donghyuck -_

“Stop!” He practically shouts, right there in the middle of the fairly deserted park. “Just - stop.”

“Look, I know - ”

“Just shut up!” Donghyuck yells again, clutching his head. War trills loudly in victory, vicious in its bitterness at the lack of action that the Antichrist had taken. “It’s all your fault. If you would have just shut up and done your job the way you were supposed to fucking do, then we all would have been great. None of them would have been questioning anything - ”

“Do you really believe that?” The Antichrist cuts in. “Why are you so angry, Donghyuck? What’s really bothering you?”

“It's all your fucking fault,” Donghyuck repeats, glaring back. His blood boils in his veins and raw frustration scalds across his skin in answer. “I don't know what you told them, how you managed to convince them but you definitely made them question who they've been for millennia.”

“That's not what's bothering you,” The other scoffs. “It's that they've questioned who they are itself that bothers you. Why? Why can't they Donghyuck? It's not like they should be limited to a fate drawn for them, especially when they aren't.” The look in the Antichrist’s eyes is all too knowing when he continues, “But the real question is, why does that bother you? Is it frustrating because you feel like they’re right? Are you starting to question too?”

“You're a pathetic child with pipe dreams if you believe that,” Donghyuck sneers in return. “I'm nothing if not War, and to think anything else is ridiculous - ”

"Is it? Is it, really?" The Antichrist argues, gaze never faltering, never backing down. “Then why haven’t you done anything yet? We both know that you’re still powerful enough to start a war if you do it right, even if your powers have decreased. But despite that, you haven’t.”

_You’re wrong,_ Donghyuck wants to say. He does want to go to war, but he can’t. Not in the way the Antichrist is saying - his powers have weakened far too much, but -

_“You haven’t,_ and even though you clearly don’t realise it, that speaks _volumes,”_ The Antichrist continues, a sternness appearing in his eyes like he knows Donghyuck will open his mouth to argue, just like the War in his head that’s screaming the loudest it has in days, far from lucid. “You may think you’re War, and you very well _are_... but you’re also Donghyuck. And no matter how much War wants to suppress him, no matter how much it denies and oppresses him, _Donghyuck_ doesn’t want to cause destruction. And maybe finally, you’re realising this yourself.”

“You - ”

“Wake up, Donghyuck,” The Antichrist says like a command, and immediately the War roaring in his head is silenced. A distant part of Donghyuck is furious, reluctant and resistant, but this overarching feeling of transparency is far more earth-shattering. “You have been silent for far too long. Don’t let the War in your head last for so long that you never give yourself the freedom to be yourself.”

To these words, Donghyuck can’t say anything except stare at the Antichrist, an antithesis in himself. His eyes are wide, determined like he’s going to do everything in his power to stop Donghyuck from drowning within himself and - the Antichrist could very well do that, if he so wished it.

But Donghyuck has never wanted to see this kind of look on anyone’s face, nor has he ever wanted to hear the words the Antichrist is saying. His first urge is always, _always_ going to want to fight what isn’t familiar. And yet he feels bereft now, strangely silent under the revelation of the Antichrist’s words. Somewhere within him, obsolete, they resonate and hit far too close to home for comfort.

And that terrifies him.

War is ingrained in him, entwined so deeply in his essence that he has always thought of his consciousness as a culmination of War’s entity and power. He has never seen ‘Donghyuck’ as anything but a mere vessel, has never been able to distinguish and acknowledge the existence of a mortal soul within him that needs its own breathing space. He can’t accept it, because that undoes everything he has understood to this very day, everything he has stood for, and if he suddenly believes this then...where does that leave him?

Who is he?

* * *

After his ‘conversation’ with the Antichrist, Donghyuck had first taken to the local gym, spending his time kick-boxing until his anger and frustration gave way to some quiet contemplation. He then isolated himself in his own room, curtains drawn.

Now that the reality of his situation has been so clearly thrown in his face, Donghyuck has no choice but to face it. He won’t lie, he wants to escape and avoid it, wants to continue acting as if nothing had changed, but that would be a bigger lie. And Donghyuck is many things, perhaps, but a cowardly exit is something that will never sit well with him, and even when he surrenders, it’ll be to circumstances he will accept he has no choice but to halt in front of.

So he isolates himself and allows himself to think, braving the thoughts he has never even considered venturing into, thoughts he’s tried to block out the last few days since Jeno had spoken to him.

He asks himself why he _hasn’t_ gone to war yet, like how the Antichrist had so deliberately pointed out. He asks himself why he hadn’t been able to realise that War had been suppressing his human side for so long? Did he have a human side in the first place?

Questions swirl through his mind, and War fights him the entire time, relentless in its efforts - and perhaps it’s how Donghyuck truly realises that this entire time he’s been simply going along with everything War has ever wanted. Under the force of such a strong oppressor, Donghyuck has adjusted himself to what War has always wanted, never putting his own desires to the forefront. Like being born into a kingdom with a tyrant as king, he’s lived in adjustment, never knowing better.

The other Horsemen leave him to his own devices for the most part, oddly considerate. Jeno and Jaemin both haven’t messaged him at all, but eventually it’s Renjun who draws him out of his room.

He knocks on Donghyuck’s door once, and doesn’t wait for a response to enter the room. It isn’t in his nature to wait (but really, even these kinds of offhand comments confuse Donghyuck now, because really - what is in his nature?).

“You’ve been here all day,” Renjun sits down on his bed, next to Donghyuck who’s simply lying on it and staring at the ceiling.

Donghyuck shrugs.

“What’s going on?” Renjun cuts to the chase, blunt as ever.

It falls silent in the wake of that question, as Donghyuck tries to think of what he wants to say, so many things on the tip of his tongue but none of them making it out. War is being noisy in his head, but he’s been blocking out the noise ever since he got into bed.

“Do you ever…” Donghyuck trails off, unsure of what he wants to say.

“What?” Renjun asks after Donghyuck stops speaking. “Do I ever what?”

“I - I don’t know, it’s just something Jeno said,” Donghyuck sighs. He throws an arm over his face, “He hates being Pestilence, you know? He says he’s never really wanted to end the world - I don’t get him.”

Donghyuck hears Renjun hum briefly, showing that he’s listening.

“How can he say that?” Donghyuck lets air escape through his nose in a deep breath. “And if he hates it so much, why did he go along with everything for so long?”

“You know,” Renjun begins slowly, hesitant and careful, like he’s searching for the right words to say. “I don’t particularly like being Death either.”

The words hang between them, odd, but having heard similar things from the other two Horsemen, it doesn’t come as a surprise to Donghyuck.

“Why?” He whispers back instead. “Why not?”

“Death is...strange,” Renjun answers, a slight bitter chuckle escaping him. “It’s a single voice in my head, you know? I don’t like the powers he’s granted to me at all - they’re vicious, and they just take and take, and they don’t comfort at all.”

Donghyuck listens in silence, accepting.

“But Death - ” Renjun takes a breath. “It’s also so wise. It’s seen so many things, and you might think it’s a pessimist but...it really is just like a grandparent, you know? It’s made me...well more mature about certain things, it’s been there for me as a support, no matter how self-damaging that may sound. Death is one of the riders because it’s an uncontrollable consequence of what’s to come. And that makes things easier to accept, I suppose.”

“So you just accept it?” Donghyuck’s jaw clenches.

“No,” Renjun replies softly. “No, I don’t think so. But as much as I hate the task, Donghyuck, Death is a part of me I can’t deny, just like I am Renjun too. I’m a pessimist, and I can’t pretend to understand why it chose me to be its container, but... I can say it’s about finding a balance.”

“Well if you dislike it so much, then why did you want to go through with the apocalypse?”

“Because that’s the course life was going to take,” Renjun sounds so certain of his own thoughts and decisions, but it leaves Donghyuck even more stranded. “I realise that I would be responsible for the Apocalypse but... this is about life and death for me, and I’d rather be in control of it. I don’t know what motivated Jaemin or Jeno to want to cause the Apocalypse, but I’m sure they have their own reasons. We’re all human, after all...and the Riders are powerful entities, and their desires are seductive.”

“And so what, our human sides are so vile that we’d be willing to cause the Apocalypse then?” Donghyuck replies bitterly. “Is that the alternative I’m supposed to accept? If there’s a part of me that’s Donghyuck, then am I really such a bad person that War would choose me to carry out his tasks?”

“...I don’t know why any of us were chosen, Donghyuck,” Renjun sighs. “I’m not going to pretend to know why either. We just were, but does it matter why? If, today, in this moment, if the Donghyuck in you doesn’t want to cause War, doesn’t want to cause the Apocalypse, then isn’t it enough?”

_Is it enough?_

Donghyuck sits up in his bed, finally meeting Renjun’s gaze. “Do you think there’s a Donghyuck in me?”

“There’ll always be a Donghyuck in you,” The other smiles lightly. “You’re so funny, you know? And even if you constantly want to fight, there’s a determination and brightness in you that can’t come from just being War. That’s the essence of Donghyuck - that ability to shine.”

Warmth envelopes Donghyuck before anything else, but before he can say a word, Renjun continues.

"It’s about balance, Donghyuck. You just need to find the equal footing. I always imagined that that the War in you was stronger, since you barely acknowledged yourself as Donghyuck, but you consistently talked as if you were making subconscious distinctions in the rest of us. But now that you’re well...finally accepting things, you’ll see. You just needed to open your eyes.”

It’s not on purpose, but Donghyuck’s mind immediately goes back to the Antichrist. To when he’d commanded him to wake up.

And even with War's quieted voices yelling at him to take revenge, fight, _destroy,_ for once, maybe Donghyuck doesn’t hate him so much.

* * *

Donghyuck is not sure why he agreed to this, to be very honest.

He’s still divided between accepting Donghyuck as an existing part of him, although he’s starting to believe it, and just causing war so he can just forget the conversations with Renjun and the Antichrist never happened.

He’s starting to see the other Horsemen’s points though. Now that it’s been brought to his attention, he catches himself subconsciously blocking out War’s screams (however quieter they may be now with his reduced powers) and trying to work out what he wants to do, outside War’s ambitions. It’s like a switch that’s been flipped, and now he can’t stop thinking about it.

He finds himself taking pictures of the sky, cerulean, and the sun, brighter than he ever remembered it being. He ends up standing in front of his stove, making himself breakfast for a change. He’s in the bathroom when he realises he’s humming the tune to some song that had been playing on his mother’s radio the day before.

He’s never done these things before, and it is these small differences in his daily life that pushes him to believe he had been blind to himself, because War had never _cared_ about the small things - about the beauty of things in this life. It had always wanted to _raze._

However, despite Donghyuck slowly coming to terms with this revelation, it doesn’t mean that he is anywhere near necessarily comfortable with spending time with the other Horsemen at the Antichrist’s house, no matter how much Donghyuck may be (reluctantly) starting to hate him less.

Nevertheless, he finds himself being dragged by Jaemin to the other’s house.

It’s only when they arrive at a quaint suburban house in the corner (definitely not a house you would expect the Antichrist of all people to live in) and it’s opened by a man dressed in a white t-shirt and grey sweatpants, curly hair ruffled and round glasses similar to the ones they’ve seen on the Antichrist himself.

He looks deceptively normal, soft if anything, but there is distinctly nothing human about him.

He smiles, and War screams a single word in his head - angel.

“You’re here!” He tilts his head and pulls open the door further. “Mark’s been waiting. He’s so excited to have you over.”

“Papa,” The Antichrist’s voice comes from right behind the man, whiny and pointedly embarrassed. Donghyuck won’t lie and say it’s not a little relieving and thrilling to hear that even the Antichrist can be embarrassed because ever since they’ve met him, he's either been kicking their asses or giving them life lessons. “Please.”

“Come on, kiddo, live a little,” The angel, or rather, Papa as the Antichrist clearly calls him, chuckles back. Mark is standing a little behind him, matching his father’s attire with his black t-shirt, grey sweatpants and circle glasses. Baekhyun turns then, ushering the four of them inside and simultaneously introducing himself in a flurry of motions, “It’s great to meet the four of you! I’m Baekhyun.”

“You’re one of the people that kidnapped the Antichrist,” Renjun says flatly, with the confidence only death can have.

“That would be correct,” Baekhyun smiles, barely sheepishly. “Best decision we ever made, to be honest.”

“Absolutely,” Another voice joins them, and they find themselves facing another man, about the same height as the angel. He’s dressed in white board shorts, with a black tank top, hidden behind a white apron. A straight, dark black fringe of hair rests across his forehead, and it ruffles as he pops out from a cavity further down the hall.

Demon, War supplies helpfully again.

“If it isn’t the Horsemen,” The man grins. “It’s a pleasure. I’m Jongdae, Mark’s other dad. I hope barbecue’s fine for lunch?”

“Sounds great!” Jaemin answers for all of them, even though he can’t eat it himself.

“I’ve made a special smoothie for you Jaemin, and some cheese fondue that I hope you’ll like?” Jongdae adds, eyebrows raising hopefully.

“Adopt me, please,” Jaemin chirps, and all of the others laugh.

“So you’re the other person who kidnapped the Antichrist, then?” Renjun puts in a second later.

“It was my idea,” Baekhyun admits, rather proudly. Donghyuck spends a second wondering if that’s really what an angel should be acting like, but he really isn’t one to talk.

“I did the kidnapping,” Jongdae adds, shrugging as he straightens his apron. He then walks over to Mark, ruffling his hair. “I was worried about the consequences, but he’s such a charm, honestly. And it helps that’s he’s basically undetectable.”

“Dad,” Mark melts under the affection, face red. “Stop.”

“Yeah, Jongdae,” Baekhyun teases. “Don’t embarrass him.”

Jongdae sends Baekhyun an unimpressed look, and then turns a motherly smile back to the group, “You guys go on ahead, yeah? Baekhyun and I will take care of setting everything up later.”

“Go have fun in the pool!” Baekhyun grins. “There’s water guns in the storage I’m sure Mark will show you.”

“And please be careful,” Jongdae then reminds. “We don’t want any injuries.”

Donghyuck doesn't know what he was expecting when it came to the people responsible for the Antichrist’s kidnapping eighteen years ago...but he doesn't think it was that.

They leave the bickering couple downstairs as Mark leads them to a raised patio out the back door, beyond his living room. There’s a small pool, the perfect size for the group.

“Well, your parents sure are interesting,” Jeno comments. “I didn’t expect the great kidnappers of the Antichrist to be that exactly.”

“Yeah, tell me about it,” The Antichrist lets out a small laugh, echoing in the space between them. It’s soft, and Donghyuck looks away, back at the pool. “It's kinda funny actually, when I first found out I was the Antichrist, I thought Dad was the angel and Papa was the demon. But I guess it takes unique people to make a difference. They both defy the standards, but they’re more than I could ever ask for.”

And the Antichrist can ask for so much more, and it could also be handed to him, and yet...

“For the best,” Renjun nods in agreement quietly. “Maybe if you hadn't stopped the Apocalypse, all of us would have been...well I don't know."

"For what it's worth, I am sorry about the crisis I caused for all of you," The Antichrist sends them an apologetic smile. "But I didn't want to do it and I refused to believe that you all wanted to as well."

"You were oddly optimistic for people you didn't know then," Donghyuck puts in then, not caring about how this is probably the nicest thing he's said to the Antichrist, ever, even if his tone hadn’t exactly been the friendliest.

The Antichrist sends him a small awkward smile, as if he's not sure how to respond. Donghyuck can't exactly blame him, but the other does seem to appreciate him trying.

"Let's get into the pool?" Jeno says then, stepping in and smoothing over the awkward pause.

The Antichrist immediately shows them to a small changing room, near a shack that probably has the aforementioned water guns. Taking turns to change, the others are already in the pool by the time Donghyuck makes it out.

At least, he thinks everyone is inside the pool until he hears something fall inside the shack, followed by a quiet curse.

After a second of hesitation, Donghyuck heads into the shack to find the Antichrist bending to grab a water gun off the floor, whilst also holding far too many guns in his hands. He's probably going to drop more, and Donghyuck immediately reaches forward to pick up the one that's on the ground.

"Oh," The Antichrist looks surprised to see him, before his lips twitch into a small smile. "Um, thank you."

"No problem," Donghyuck swallows, looking away, only for his eyes to land on the water guns in the other's arms. "Here, I'll hold another one."

"No, it's alright -"

"I _insist_ \- "

The Antichrist laughs, surrendering one of them to him.

Donghyuck can't really stop the grin that suddenly climbs his face, so he whirls around to leave because he's still unsure of how he feels about the Antichrist, but he's trying.

"Donghyuck," The other calls from behind him, sounding a little hesitant himself. When Donghyuck turns marginally to look at him, the Antichrist is looking down, shyer than Donghyuck has seen him, fiddling with the water guns.

Donghyuck stays silent, waiting for the other to speak.

"Just...thanks for coming here?" He says then.

"To help you?" Donghyuck feels his face warm the slightest, taken aback by the sincerity of the statement. "It was nothing really - "

"No," He interrupts. Much to Donghyuck’s surprise, his ears turn scarlet, a dust of red over his cheekbones. "I mean, coming here, at my house...I know that this whole thing has been hard on you especially, and you hate me because of it - "

"That's not true," Donghyuck spills before he can stop himself, and the words surprise him because he realises that they're true. The Antichrist stops mid-speech, looking equally shocked. The look is enough for Donghyuck’s face to flame so he clears his throat, avoids his eyes. "I mean, I don't hate you. You - you had good intentions. And well...it was War that hated your interference."

"Oh," Mark says for the second time today.

"Actually I - um, thank you," Donghyuck sounds progressively strangled but now that he's started, he has to continue. "For interfering and all that. Because without you...I don't think I would have ever realised. So yeah. Thanks...Mark."

The Antichrist looks like he's about to cry, dark eyes shimmering in the faint light of the shack. His smile is the brightest Donghyuck has seen, and he looks happier than maybe necessary, but Donghyuck can't find it in himself to fault it.

Instead Donghyuck returns a grin, heart feeling lighter in his chest, even if the room is getting too hot now and the embarrassment is _really_ sinking in and he kinda wants to escape.

"Your welcome, Donghyuck."

When the two of them step out of the room, Donghyuck is tackled into a hug by Jaemin - a person who _is_ crying - and saying, "My baby, you've finally grown up!"

Donghyuck levels an unimpressed glare at the two other Horsemen in his visibility, who are casually looking around like they hadn't been standing right outside the shack and eavesdropping like the little shits that they are.

"Let go of me, asshole," Donghyuck grumbles. His face is still scarlet. "You're all fakes who don't understand the concept of privacy."

Jaemin's smirk is entirely untrustworthy. "Oh, you want some _privacy -" _

Donghyuck shoves him into the pool.

* * *

It’s later when they are all sat at the outdoor table, watching Jongdae skillfully handle the barbecue (he’d literally breathed flames into it, proving his demonic abilities) and Baekhyun makes all of them colourful mocktails that things start going wrong. It’s actually just a rather off-hand comment on Jeno’s part that triggers it.

“Don’t you think that it’s weird that it’s been nearly a month since we met Mark but his real father downstairs hasn’t like demanded answers as to why the Apocalypse hasn’t happened?”

“Maybe he just doesn’t know?” Jaemin suggests, slurping noisily from his special milkshake. “I mean, it’s possible. No one said anything when all of us met.”

“I’m pretty much undetectable too,” Mark raises a hand. “I think it’s something like a defense mechanism meant to protect me. Which I guess is why no one’s come hunting for me for so long. Besides, Dad and Papa both did say that my aura shielded any other non-human auras in a close range - although in their case, they’ve always been able to mask their own auras without needing me to since angels and demons can do that for themselves, apparently.”

“So we probably have auras too,” Jeno nods at the other Horsemen. Mark nods, “Yeah, that’s how I would know if you were all around.”

“Wait a minute,” Donghyuck realises. “So that would mean we’ve gone off the radar each time we’ve met you?”

Renjun is the first to gasp when he understands the implication. “If, by any chance, we’d been being tracked...then every time we’ve disappeared off the radar, it would be suspicious.”

“Yes, you’re absolutely right,” An unfamiliar voice says then, and then they don’t even need to turn around to feel how the temperature drops instantly, before flaring to almost unbearable. A man in black robes, face shadowed, stands in the doorway of the house to the backyard. He steps into the light, and a shiver runs down Donghyuck’s spine before suddenly, War is screaming again.

The man is paler than even Renjun, features aristocratic just like Mark’s and distantly familiar in Jongdae’s bone structure too. His eyes are entirely sunken, hollow, and darker than the blackest night, and lips twisted in a perilous curve. One look into his eyes is enough to send Donghyuck’s and War's simultaneously thoughts into misery and pain and villainy, and he wants to look away but finds himself grotesquely captivated nonetheless. He's _War_, and this man's presence _still_ sends trembles through his frame, even when the Horsemen don't truly answer to anyone - except for the _Antichrist_ himself. But Donghyuck can't even bring himself to move, and he knows that if he were a _mere_ human, he wouldn't have even been able to breathe right now.

He knows exactly who this is. The Antichrist’s real father: the Devil himself.

“Your little disappearing acts made it clear enough to me that you’d met my Son,” The man’s eyes gleam, and instantly, Jongdae is away from the barbeque and Baekhyun drops the glass on the table. They both move so quickly, it’s almost impossible to see them until they’re standing shoulder to shoulder, barricading Mark. The Antichrist, who’s essentially just a few inches shorter than them, is still clearly visible behind them. But behind their protective stance, he places a hand on each of his adoptive fathers’ shoulders in support. Meanwhile, the Devil’s gaze pins the Horsemen to their spots, voice dark. “I’ll get to you Horsemen later, allow me to meet my Son first.”

His eyes land on the duo blocking Mark, and then a frightening scowl appears on his face, “You must be the ones who kidnapped him. A demon and an angel, how truly pathetic. Angel, I’m not surprised you’ve broken the rules, but for you Demon? To betray your own kind? I shall drag you down to hell and ensure you are served the worst punishments from the depths of Hell.”

Donghyuck doesn’t know how either of them don’t flinch under the weight of the Devil’s stare or the strength of the malice in his words. But whilst Baekhyun simply grips Jongdae’s wrist in defiance, Jongdae narrows his eyes and answers back, “We won’t let you touch him.”

The Devil scoffs, and then there’s almost an amicable smile on his face, but even Donghyuck knows better than to believe that. “Son, come here.”

Mark, who has been silent since the Devil’s appearance, glares back at him. “I’m not your son. I’m not some instrument for you to achieve what you want. And I refuse to be.”

“Son,” The Devil’s voice comes out warning this time, and for a second Donghyuck feels unadulterated fear as Mark pushes forward from between his dads, the duo both calling out Mark’s name in a way that encapsulates all their fear, anguish, and worry. It’s a little ironic, for Donghyuck to feel like this, when up until just two days ago he had wanted to cause the apocalypse.

But Mark sends them both a reassuring smile, and then turns back to the Devil with an almost disbelievingly calm expression.

“Do you want to be my father?” He asks, the question sounding genuine.

“Of course,” The Devil replies, the chilling smirk curling once more.

“And then what?” Mark demands. “Are you going to take me to live with you in hell? Are we going to destroy this world in an apocalypse? Are you going to force me to lead it? Are you going to force the Horsemen to participate?”

“Naturally,” The Devil retorts. “Son, if we want to take over the world, we must be brutal. The human race, nor do those living in the heavens understand what it means to be free, to live by desire. We will reform the world - ”

“Cut the bullshit,” Mark interrupts him, and Donghyuck, despite it all finds himself in awe of the bravery of the boy in front of him to speak to the Devil in the way he is. He wants to snicker at the expression on the Devil’s face.

“We’re happy with the world as it is here,” He states. “We have plenty of desires, the desire to live and be ourselves, not bound by the duties that you’re enforcing on us. We’ll live as we want to, and you can’t do anything to stop us. _I_ refuse to allow it - in fact, I _won’t_ allow it. I won’t allow you to hurt anyone here - _especially_ not my fathers, who have done so much to bring me up in an unbiased way and loved me unparalleled, _especially_ not the Horsemen, who have shouldered the burden of a task they shouldn’t have to do for longer than they ever needed to. You mutilated the concepts of war, famine, pestilence and death into something evil when there will always be good and bad sides to every coin.”

“And not _me._” He takes a breath, and then glares, “_Listen_ to me when I say that you cannot control us. You _aren’t_ welcome here and you won’t bother me, or the Horsemen or my parents. Leave us _alone._ Leave this place and never come back. Or I will wish your existence into _null.”_

And Donghyuck has _never_ prayed to God, but for the first time in this life, he's grateful to _whatever_ greater entity that has blessed Mark with his control over reality. Donghyuck cannot deny the intense relief that floods him when the Devil starts fading.

The Devil’s composure breaks, desperately trying to get hold of Mark as he rushes forward, but when his hand lands on Mark, he instantly pulls back like he’s scalded and within the blink of an eye, he’s gone.

It’s silent, sombre like in the wake of a disaster and no one knows what to do, all of them reeling in what had just happened. Mark’s fathers pull him into a hug, and it looks like Baekhyun is releasing relieved tears as Jongdae’s arms envelope both of them.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Mark mumbles two seconds later, and the statement is so ridiculous, it’s enough to dissolve the silence hanging between all of them into small chuckles, the sounded stained by the reality of the situation hitting them.

Mark looks up, beyond his dads, and his eyes meet Donghyuck’s. Relief floods through Mark’s eyes, and Donghyuck is certain it reflects in his own. They share a small smile.

_Yes_, Donghyuck thinks,_ things will get better now_.

* * *

“We should have ended the world,” Donghyuck whines as he stares at the assignments they’d received on the very first day. “_Fuck_ school.”

“Happy thoughts, Donghyuck,” Jeno eye smiles at him again. He and Renjun exchange a look across the dining table. “Happy thoughts.”

Donghyuck side-eyes Jaemin, who’s grinning to himself, “How does that bitch, the first one on the No-Apocalypse Train get no homework, but I get stuck with three assignments on the first day back?”

“Karma, bitch,” Jaemin taunts back. “Maybe you should have boarded the train first. This is for all the times you’ve wished for the end of the world.”

“Who’s wishing for the end of the world? Don’t tell me it’s Donghyuck again,” Mark’s voice comes from behind and he’s voice lilts with amusement. They’ve all taken to hanging out at Mark’s house now, even when Mark himself isn’t at school anymore. “Hyuck, why are you such a problem child?”

Donghyuck immediately tilts his head back with a pout, “Shut up, you’re just lucky university doesn’t start for you for another week.”

Then he sits up in realisation as War whispers helpful advice in his head, “Wait, you can just manipulate reality to give Jaemin more assignments! Get rid of mine!”

“No.”

Donghyuck makes a face even though he was only joking and he knew that was the response he was going to get anyway. “Honestly, life really is so unfair. How do the best powers go to possibly the most boring person on the planet?”

“Just because I won’t get rid of your assignments and make Jaemin’s life hell doesn’t mean I’m a boring person, Hyuck,” Mark sounds bemused.

The Antichrist takes a seat next to Donghyuck at the table, scrolling on his phone, just as Baekhyun walks in with a bunch of chocolate cookies. The angel spares a look over his shoulder, looking all the more suspicious, and says, “Quick, before Jongdae notices they’re gone. He’s trying to control your chocolate intake since it’s unhealthy, but I say live and let live.”

“Papa,” Mark is eyeing his father, already frowning like he dislikes this scheme, but Donghyuck takes the plate without a moment’s hesitation. “Dad is going to - ”

“BAEKHYUN!” A piercing shout erupts from the kitchen, and Baekhyun spares one wink their way with a quick ‘gotta run’ before he’s out of the room. “GET YOUR ASS IN HERE RIGHT NOW!”

“ - I told you,” Mark sighs at his father’s disappearing figure, before grinning ruefully at the Horsemen, who each take a cookie from the plate. There’s a single white cookie, specifically put out for Jaemin, who snatches it without waiting.

It falls silent as they get to work, and Donghyuck takes a moment to appraise them. It’s been a little over three weeks since what Donghyuck calls the ‘Father Disowning Event’, and they’ve all changed.

Jeno, for one, isn’t being a secretive little shit. He talks to them more, tells them what he’s thinking. Renjun has stopped talking like a Roman army general, swearing more openly, which Donghyuck is yet to decide is a good change or not. Jaemin has been eating more kinds of food and even keeping it down. He’s still pale, and his wrists are still too thin, but they’re all working on things.

And Donghyuck is well - now he’s Donghyuck with War, but he’s in control. He’s had a long chat with the voices in his head, the dreams that show him battlefields, and he’s accepted them, but he no longer lets them overpower him and tempt him unless he truly wants it. He’s decided war can be quite useful when he’s being petty. Time has shown that War was relentless in it’s efforts to regain control, but Donghyuck’s discovered stubbornness is actually in his blood - and maybe this was why he’d been chosen by War in the first place. Because Donghyuck will always fight it, always challenge it. And even if it wins on some days, make Donghyuck angrier than ever necessary, have a blood lust stronger than necessary, it'll be fine because most of the time, Donghyuck will always regain his strength against it. 

And then there’s Mark, who is as true to his appearance as a nerd, but hides nerves of steel under the sleeves of his long shirts. He’s unfunny, but laughs at everything Donghyuck says with his newly uncovered non-fatalistic sarcasm and humour, and he feels like a pillar of strength for all of them. And, if he lets himself think just a little harder about this, even if War is still petty that the Antichrist didn’t let him initiate the Apocalypse, Donghyuck _might_ just concede that Mark _might_ just be a little cute.

Donghyuck only realises he’s staring a little too long at Mark when the other looks up from his phone, probably feeling his gaze, and raises a single curved eyebrow, smile automatically climbing on his face since he’s such a friendly person.

...Yeah he’s a little cute.

But that’s not exactly a can of worms Donghyuck’s about to open anytime soon, so he shakes his head, smiles back and then looks away before he can feel embarrassment at being caught staring.

He’s happy with the way things are right now.

Maybe it was worth not ending the world after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Did they live happily ever after? I'd sure like to think so.
> 
> I hope you guys liked it, leave me a comment and I'll do my best to reply asap~! I look forward to writing more for this fandom, now that I've started.
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Lots of love,  
Miche xx
> 
> (Also, for those of you who know about Angel Feathers Amidst Human Tears, my current on-going Baekchen fic - I'm sorry I'm so late with the update, I know I'm a terrible person, but life is getting in the way and my mental health took a swerve down to visit the alley of sadness, so I'm doing my best to get it out soon! It's nearly done, and I hope I'll post it soon, but no promises.)


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